DOHA: Qatar Energy, a state-owned energy company, announced a 27-year natural gas supply deal with China on Monday, terming it the longest gas deal.
The agreement comes at a time when the Gulf country is strengthening ties with Asia while Europe is searching for alternative sources.
Under the deal, the company will send 4 million tons of liquified natural gas annually to the Chinese company China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation. The gas supply would be made from Qatar’s new project North Field East.
Qatar’s Minister for Energy and the Chief Executive of the QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said that it is the longest gas supply deal in the history of Liquified Natural Gas.
Asian countries led by China, South Korea and Japan are the main markets for the tiny Gulf state’s gas, a commodity the European countries are increasingly seeking since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
After Germany and other countries recoiled from signing the type of long-term deals made by Asian countries, negotiations with European countries suffered.
North Field South Project the Center of Qatar’s LNG Production Expansion
The new project North Field is the center of the Gulf country’s expansion of LNG production by over 60 percent to 126m tons a year by 2027.
Ben Chill, a senior fellow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that QatarEnergy company has a whole heap of natural gas to market but it is very confident about its demand. He said when the buyers are worried about security, there is no need for the company to settle for short-term contracts.
China became the first country to ink a deal for North Field East.
The Chairman of the Chinese company said that it had also requested a full share of the new project, dominated by energy giants of the West.
Kaabi said that the deal would further strengthen the excellent bilateral ties between Qatar and China and aid in meeting the latter’s growing energy needs.
Sinopec’s Ma Yongsheng who participated in a virtual deal-inking ceremony from Beijing, termed the deal a milestone. He said that Qatar is the largest exporter and China is the largest importer of LNG.
Ma Yongsheng said that he had requested a share of North Field South project last month. Britain’s Shell, US ConocoPhillips and France’s TotalEnergies will share the 25 per cent foreign stakes in the field. Ma told Kaabi that Sinopec was willing to explore other deals with their company. –APP/AFP
